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Business Briefs
Alex Martins, CEO of the Orlando Magic NBA team and current chair of the UCF board of trustees, said the move has the potential of being transformative. “Intercollegiate athletics is often referred to as the front porch of the university,” he said. Sports can help universities gain international attention and can open doors that create engagement from alumni, donors and prospective students.
Terry Mohajir, UCF vice president and director of athletics, thanked the American Athletic Conference, which UCF will leave as it steps into the Big 12. “As a proud member since 2013, our teams have won 32 AAC championships in a wide variety of sports. We will continue to proudly represent the AAC during the transition.”
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The University of Central Florida has accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference, a move that is expected to elevate its national profile and expand opportunities for student athletes to compete at the highest level. The announcement is igniting excitement among UCF football fans.
Formed in 1963, UCF will be the youngest institution among the Power 5 conferences. The Big 12 began play in 1996-97, and its teams have won 69 NCAA championships since the conference was established. In football, the conference has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners.
UCF President Alexander Cartwright applauded the move: “As we strive to become the world’s leading metropolitan research university, we know our achievements in our classrooms and laboratories, and in our community, are enhanced by our national recognition in athletic competition, and this invitation will only strengthen that relationship.”
NASA Awards UCF a $500,000 Grant for Aerospace Work
The University of Central Florida was one of seven universities to receive a $500,000 grant to support NASA’s Artemis program, which has a goal of sending people back to the moon over the next decade. The university already leads the country in the number of graduates it produces for aerospace jobs. An estimated 30% of the workers at Kennedy Space Center have degrees from UCF.
The university said it was eligible for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Space Technology Artemis Research (M-STAR) grant because of its significant Hispanic population. UCF students and faculty members will collaborate with Blue Origin, nanotechnology company Imec, local industry, various NASA centers and the Florida Space Grant Consortium as part of the grant.
Business Proposed Stadium Expansion
Terry Mohajir, who started in February as the University of Central Florida’s athletics director, unveiled his vision in August for expansion of the 44,000-seat UCF stadium and surrounding facilities. The stadium would house coaches’ offices behind premium seating, as well as premium event space with views of the football field and the campus, a renovated locker room, and a team lounge and meeting area. The new design would create more seating for students and a “town square” nearby for tailgating.
Innovation Education
BizLink Orange Connects Region’s Entrepreneurs With Services
Central Florida entrepreneurs soon will have the help of a new online platform called BizLink Orange, which will connect them to about 40 regional support organizations. Launching in November at the National Entrepreneur Center (NEC) at Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, this next generation of support offers small business owners access to coaching and training, a collection of “how-to” guides and a regional calendar of business events.
BizLink Orange takes the collaborative model of the NEC, which is made up of 16 organizations, and expands it exponentially to anyone with an internet connection.
The NEC was founded in 2003 when Orange County, the University of Central Florida and The Walt Disney Company collaborated to launch a unified approach to growing the local small business economy. It combines multiple business support agencies into a single location to provide efficiency for entrepreneurs while leveraging limited community resources. Less than five years later, its vision was borne out when an Orlando Business Journal survey of 55 U.S. cities named Orlando as the best place to start and grow a small business. Today, more than 220,000 entrepreneurs have been coached and trained through the NEC.
Orange County funds BizLink Orange, which is free to small business owners. Services are not only available to people in Orange but also to those who live in Osceola, Lake, Seminole, Brevard and Volusia counties. The NEC was tapped to implement, manage and oversee the program.
Nashville-based e|spaces has opened a 30,000-square-foot coworking space on the 13th floor of the SunTrust Plaza in downtown Orlando. The company hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration in late August with more than 200 business and government leaders in attendance. The event showcased more than 30 businesses that make up the e|spaces community, ranging from high-tech firms to nonprofits including the Downtown Orlando Partnership. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer led the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with e|spaces Founder Jon Pirtle.
Tourism New Coworking Space
From left, Don Long, Jill Vaughan, Brandy Bennett, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, e|spaces Founder Jon Pirtle and Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill
Growth Inspiration
Convention Center Reaccredited for Global Health Protocols
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it became clear that events would need to be handled differently, the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) was one of the first facilities of its kind to receive GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA.
The facility recently became the first convention center to achieve reaccreditation globally after a successful year of hosting in-person events.
Through its dedication to upholding GBAC STAR infection prevention protocols, as well as its recovery and resiliency guidelines in cooperation with the Florida Department of Health and its pioneering collaboration with Orlando Health, the OCCC has hosted more than 100 live events since the onset of the pandemic.
“From the very beginning, we have been committed to hosting safe events and prioritizing the health of all who enter the OCCC,” said Mark Tester, the facility’s executive director. “GBAC STAR has been instrumental in helping us get to where we are today.”
As of August 19, 2021, the OCCC had 52 contracted events planned throughout the rest of the year, including 12 conventions, trade shows and sporting events that relocated their events to the OCCC from other destinations. In June 2021, the facility welcomed its largest event to date, the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) 48th Annual Junior National Volleyball Championships, which brought in more than 135,000 attendees.
Fan Engagement App Unveiled for 2022 Special Olympics
In preparation for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games that will be held in Orlando in June 2022, organizers have unveiled a first-of-its-kind fan engagement app. The custom-built, immersive app was developed in partnership with Orlandobased cloud consulting provider Solodev and Virginia-based software solutions provider Applied Training Solutions.
“Since Day One, the entire organizing committee and I have been committed to creating an unforgettable Games experience, everything from the world-class destination, exceptional venues, and now the first-of-its-kind Special Olympics USA Games app,” said Joe Dzaluk, the president and CEO of the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. Special Olympics athletes helped shape the app, which will enable users to create custom Games schedules, view an interactive map with venue locations and distances, and start planning their trip to Orlando. In phase two later this fall, users will be able to create personalized profiles, look up and follow athletes and coaches, send cheer-on messages, and access virtual ticketing.
The 2022 event will be the largest Special Olympics USA Games ever, uniting more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the Caribbean and 125,000 spectators.
Sports Leadership Technology
GrowFL Announces 82 Finalists for Companies to Watch
Climate First Bank, founded by Lake County resident Ken LaRoe, has partnered with global nonprofit network 1% for the Planet and has pledged to donate 1% of its annual revenue to support sustainability-oriented nonprofits.
Based in St. Petersburg with clients nationwide, the bank opened in June. Its mission is to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide by accelerating society’s transition to sustainable alternatives. Climate First Bank is a pending B Corporation, a company that balances planet and profit. It is also the only bank in Florida to be a legal Benefit Corporation, which provides legal protection for making decisions based on financial factors and nonfinancial interests such as a social mission. “Joining 1% for the Planet was a no-brainer decision,” said LaRoe. “This partnership opens up an incredible opportunity to use our resources to fund projects with the same mission as Climate First Bank. The money we make on our sustainable loans will go right back to funding eco-friendly projects and furthering environmental causes all over the world.”
Deepak Chopra Teaches Integrative Medicine at UCF
There is a new volunteer faculty member at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine: Deepak Chopra, who is world-renowned as an advocate of integrative medicine, which focuses on the whole person for health and healing.
Chopra will provide electives and other programs on the mind/body connection for health and well-being. He has set up residence in Lake Nona, where his foundation recently opened the first Chopra Mind-Body Zone and Spa at the new Lake Nona Performance Club. Chopra has been a regular visitor to Orlando, where he has taken part in the annual Lake Nona Impact Forum, which brings in worldwide experts on innovations in health and wellness.
Chopra first studied medicine in India before coming to the U.S. and has taught at Tufts, Harvard and Boston universities. Trained as an endocrinologist, he also serves as an adjunct professor of urology at Mount Sinai, a clinical professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego, and a senior scientist with the Gallup organization.
Twenty-two Central Florida secondstage growth companies are among 82 finalists announced for the next class of GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch honorees. Now in its 11th year, the program selected the finalists from more than 600 nominations statewide representing a variety of industries.
Companies to Watch was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation to recognize and honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace with innovative strategies and processes. Companies are judged on past growth, projected success, special strengths and impact in their markets and communities. Candidates must have between six and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million in 2020.
GrowFL will host events across Florida to showcase the finalists. The list of companies by region is available at https:// growfl.com/flctw21/meet-the-finalists/. The honorees will be announced this month, and the awards celebration will be held Feb. 17, 2022, at Hard Rock Live at Universal City Walk in Orlando.
Finance Community
Central Florida finalists:
Brevard County - CustomAerospace, Kegman, Tank Wizards, TotalCareIT and Vaya Space
Lake County - AffinityFL
Orange County - AceApplications, AMP Pediatric Therapy, Assured Information Technology Engineering, Bestglobalsource, Castillo Engineering, Hispanic Family Counseling, InNovo Partners, NanoSpective, NovoaGlobal and ViewStub Seminole County - .decimal, ecoSPEARS, Informulate and Synergy Wealth Alliance
Volusia County - Intellitec Products and Zgraph
Health
Innovation Takes 'Flight'
Daniel Robinson
Red 6 Chooses Orlando
for Combat Pilot Technology Hub
BY TERRY GODBEY
Photography by Mike Killian/Red 6
hen Daniel Robinson was a boy obsessed with the movie Superman, he would stand outdoors trying to take flight. But even a child’s imagination could not have prepared him for the thrilling career he would experience as a fighter pilot and businessman.
“I was enamored with Christopher Reeve’s character flying down Fifth Avenue in New York,” recalled the founder and CEO of Red 6, a technology company that is changing the way the military trains its combat pilots. “All I wanted my Superman to do was save cats from trees and perform good deeds.”
He would go on to become a fan of Star Wars and Top Gun — fitting for a young man who took to the skies for real as a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. Robinson also later became the first non-American in the world to fly the F-22 Raptor. It was after meeting Glenn Snyder in 2018 and seeing the groundbreaking work he’d been doing in virtual reality that Robinson came up with the vision for Red 6. Snyder now serves as the company’s chief product officer.
In a victory for Florida economic development leaders, Red 6 announced in August that it is moving its operations to the Sunshine State from California sometime in 2022. Within days, the company announced it had won a $70 million contract with the Air Force, making the move even more significant for Florida.
Although Red 6’s official headquarters will be in Miami, where Robinson will live, its technology hub will be located in Orlando because
Wof the city’s international reputation as a center for companies working on modeling, simulation and training projects for military and civilian use.
“I'd always associated Orlando with theme parks, frankly,” Robinson said. “I didn't fully understand the complementary aspects of the cluster of technology companies that exist there.” When he looked around Central Florida, he also found access to what he described as a talented human capital pool from places like the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Full Sail University.
Fighter Pilot Training
Red 6’s allure is based on its trailblazing technology. Traditionally, fighter pilots have been trained through the use of other pilots pretending to be adversaries, also known as red air, hence the company’s name. This type of synthetic combat air training is very expensive, Robinson said.
Every time Robinson flew an F-22 to get training, he needed someone to fly against as the “bad guy.” At a cost of about $100,000 per flight hour, using a second plane and pilot to replicate an adversary doubled that cost to about $200,000. Not only is that pricey, Robinson said, but the military doesn’t have enough airplanes or pilots to provide the amount of training that combat pilots need.
In response to that problem, Red 6 tackled this fundamental question: “Could we put real pilots and airplanes up in the sky but replace the need for
Daniel Robinson and his dog, Petey, whose title is chief morale officer, with the Berkut 540 airplane
real adversary aircraft by replacing them with synthetic assets that don’t physically exist, but ones that the aircraft sensors believe to be there and, critically, assets the pilots can physically see and maneuver against?”
To make this vision a reality, Red 6 created an Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), a technology that does just that by putting virtual planes and pilots in the sky that real pilots in real planes can maneuver against in real time. Using a combination of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence, the technology is the first AR solution in the world to work outdoors and in the most dynamic of environments. Pilots can now fight virtual enemies, practice aerial refueling and formation flying, and work through combat scenarios all while pulling G’s in a high-speed, real-world environment. Virtual vs. Augmented Reality
with simulators using virtual reality before, but augmented reality is different. Where virtual reality creates an entirely new world, augmented reality adds images to real surroundings — for example, showing an airplane against the actual sky instead of creating both the aircraft and the sky.
“Augmented reality is a much more complex and nuanced problem to solve,” Robinson said, “because we aim to put synthetic or virtual entities into the real world and have people interact seamlessly with them. So if I'm flying my airplane, I see the sky and the mountains but superimposed on that real world are augmented assets — in this case, airplanes that I can now train against.” It’s safer, too, he pointed out, because there are no adversary planes to crash into.
ATARS puts its AR technology into an airplane’s cockpit by projecting an image onto the visor of the pilot’s helmet. Its ability to work outdoors and in highspeed environments makes it perfect for realistic combat training.
Air Force Contract
The Air Force, which has been interested in Red 6’s ATARS since its creation, has awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract worth up to $70 million over five years. The award will allow the company to pursue the commercialization of Red 6’s AR platform for purchase not only by the Air Force but also by the Army, Navy or Marine Corps.
“Innovation within training is needed now more than ever to remain competitive with our adversaries,” Dr. Winston Bennett of the Air Force said in a news release. “Red 6 is delivering a solution to current pain points in training that, if fixed, could solve several national security issues we face today.” Bennett is part of the Warfighter Interactions and Readiness Division.
— Daniel Robinson
Red 6 will begin integrating its ATARS technology into a T-38 Talon jet immediately. That work, which will be a big focus for Red 6 in the next 12 to 18 months, will take place at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
“The contract is significant because we are stepping out from our own test platforms and test aircraft for the first time,” said Robinson, adding that Red 6 already worked with the Air Force in SBIR Phases I and II, which were more about research and development. “Now we’re putting ATARS into a supersonic jet trainer with an ejection seat, and with all of the militarization that's involved in that.”
Bound for Florida
Robinson said he decided to move his company to Florida because it’s more welcoming to businesses than California. Miami offers explosive growth and a massive shift of private equity and venture capital, he said, while Orlando’s renowned modeling and simulation industry provides an ideal foundation for Red 6 to grow. UCF has not only acquired an international reputation as a center for simulation and training, it is also the nation’s No. 1 supplier of graduates for the aerospace and defense industries.
With Brightline high-speed passenger rail set to connect Orlando and Miami starting in late 2022, Robinson chose both cities for Red 6 operations. “I felt that neither location offered everything we need, but it made a tremendous amount of sense to me to capture the value of both places,” he said. “I don't really think about it in terms of an Orlando or Miami success story — I think of it as a Florida success story.”
Red 6 has not yet chosen a site for its Orlando technology hub, where software engineering will be conducted, although Robinson has opened a temporary office in the Central Florida Research Park near UCF and said he is intrigued by Lake Nona. The growing area of east Orlando has already attracted autonomous shuttle company Beep and electric flying cab company Lilium, among other innovative companies.
In addition, Red 6 has not decided which Orlando airport will house its experimental Berkut 540 (pronounced burr-COOT) airplanes, which Robinson built and calls his “mobile augmented reality flying labs.” He is working with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which oversees Orlando International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport.
The company of about 40 employees is growing quickly and will begin hiring for its high-wage jobs soon. In a coup for the company, Red 6 welcomed aboard Sheena Fowler, the former director of innovation at Orlando Economic Partnership, which played a key role in persuading Robinson to come to Orlando. Fowler will serve as senior director of strategic partnerships and business development and became Red 6’s first Orlando-based team member in August. Exacting Business Education
Robinson left the Air Force in 2009 after becoming a flight training instructor and reaching what he felt was the pinnacle of his combat aviation career. “At some point, someone will tell you to stop flying airplanes, and I like to be in control of my own destiny,” he said. He figured business was the bridge to whatever he was going to do next, so he had earned an MBA from Georgetown University. In 2010, he moved to New York City and began work as a director of new business development for global investment firm Franklin Templeton.
After only a year there, he got a call from his father, who was CEO of Gus Robinson Developments, a construction and home-building company in the UK. His father said the company was in trouble and he needed his son to return home and help him.
Robinson got on the next plane, but his father committed suicide before he arrived, leaving a shocked, grieving family and a company on the brink of bankruptcy.
Greg Francis prepares for his book launch tour.
“It was extremely, extremely difficult,” Robinson said of the time he spent rescuing the company for his mother, sisters and employees. “I was sitting there with a really interesting background of leadership and management experience, an MBA and some time in finance, so I had a certain skill set and experience level that was commensurate with being asked to do something of that magnitude. But I suppose the question was, did I have the character to do what was being asked of me?”
He said he knew his life in New York was over — and so was a powerful relationship he had built. “It was the first time I was really in love as an adult, and I lost that person the same year as my dad because I knew that once I stepped home, it was going to be all-consuming. I was involved in a proverbial dogfight to keep the company alive. It was broken from top to bottom, so it was a tremendous, tremendous education.”
Back to His Own Dreams
After six exhausting years of turning the company around, Robinson left the UK for California to find something to make him happy, with no clear idea what that might be.
“I bought a surfboard,” he told a Full Sail University audience in July. “And I went out into the ocean and sat on that surfboard every night and watched the sun go down … and asked myself the difficult questions. Losing my dad in the way I did really crystallized what was important for me in life. I thought about how all the money in the world but no time is as worthless as all the time in the world with no money.”
He said he thought about how much he loved flying, but it had been a while, so he took flying lessons and earned a pilot’s license. The hangar he was based out of housed an experimental aircraft he admired, so he began to work on that plane and decided together with the designer of that aircraft that he would create his own. The Berkut 540 they built would go on to be the aircraft Red 6 would use to test its ATARS technology.
Around this time, Robinson met Snyder, who had created a sophisticated virtual reality game in 2015 featuring two real race cars on separate tracks that appeared to be competing on the same track.
“When I saw Glenn’s technology with the race cars, it was a lightbulb moment for me,” Robinson said. “That’s when I came up with the idea of Red 6 and accomplishing that feat in an airplane.”
In flight over Southern California
Creating ATARS hasn’t been easy, but that didn’t stop Robinson. “I've always liked working on difficult problems with extraordinary people,” he said. “After I came back to California, I asked myself, ‘If I knew when the end of my life was coming, how could I live as truthfully as possible and how would I spend my time?’ And it was while answering those questions that I decided to build an airplane, which has led me to the most extraordinary chapter of my life with Red 6.
“There is a major purpose behind it, and that is the geopolitical threat I see from the re-emergence of Russia onto the world stage and the rise of China. I've surrounded myself with the most capable, extraordinary, beautiful people who believe in my vision and are working hard to achieve it. And that’s something I've been fortunate throughout my career to be able to do, whether flying airplanes in the military, transforming Dad's company or going to business school. I've been very, very lucky, and it's always been the people around me that I've enjoyed the most.”
